Impossible Things

by Robin Stevenson

  There was a long pause. I bit my lip and waited. Please still be my friend. I could hear her breathing too close to the phone. “It’s okay,” she said at last. “I guess that’s why I’ve never told anyone before. I figured no one would believe it.”

  “I do believe you,” I said. Then I added, more honestly, “I mean, I don’t think you would lie to me. Telekinesis, well, it’s a hard thing to accept, you know? I spent hours trying to do it tonight, and I wouldn’t have done that if I really thought you were making it up.”

  “Yeah.” Her voice was a bit thick-sounding, like she’d been crying.

  “Are you okay?” I remembered how she’d answered the phone. “Hey—did Rick phone you? What was that about?”

  “He called,” she said. “Tonight, right after I got off the phone with you. I thought it was you calling back, so I picked up right away. Just as well. If Mom had answered…” She made a funny choking sound, like she was holding back tears. “I can’t stand it. I mean, I’ve met you and Felicia, and everything is going so well here. I don’t want Rick to mess everything up again.”

  “What did he call for? I mean, what did he say?”

  “Oh, same old, same old. He’s got this crazy idea that he could make all kinds of money if I’d help him.” She hesitated. “He didn’t come right out and say this, but I think he’s got himself into trouble of some kind. He said he owes a lot of money.”

  “Like, to a drug dealer or something?”

  “I don’t know. Probably, yeah. Anyway, he wouldn’t listen to me. I told him that it wouldn’t work anyway. We’d just get caught, and we’d both be in a ton of trouble.”

  “So, did he…?”

  “He hung up. Then you called back, and I thought it was him.”

  “Jeez.”

  “Yeah, if he calls and Mom or Dad picks up the phone…”

  “Maybe you should tell them,” I said. “I mean, if you’re scared of him.”

  “You think I should?”

  I hesitated. “I don’t know,” I said at last. “It’s up to you.”

  “I don’t know,” she wailed. “I don’t know what to do.”

  Mom would know what to do, I thought suddenly. Mom dealt with problems bigger than this. She talked to suicidal people on the crisis line, people who were really lost and scared and alone. She’d be able to figure this out somehow. And, well, it had sounded like she actually did want me to talk to her about stuff. “Victoria? Can I ask my mom? Or, I don’t know, do you want to talk to her, maybe?”

  “No. No, don’t tell anyone, okay? Promise.”

  “I promise.” I sucked on my bottom lip, wondering what to do. Then I remembered the other reason I had called. “Hey, want to go tobogganing tomorrow? Mom says she’ll drive, and Felicia says she’s in.”

  “I’m in too! Well, I should check with my parents, but I’m sure they’ll let me.” She lowered her voice. “They’ve been fighting all night. It’s awful. I’ll be glad to get out of the house for the day.”

  “Um, Victoria? Do they fight a lot?”

  She didn’t answer right away. When she spoke, her voice was flat. “All the time,” she said. “All the time.”

  I swallowed. When Dad’s home, he and Mom are like a couple of teenagers, always kissing and giggling and stuff. It’s embarrassing, but I wouldn’t change it. “You can always come here,” I said. “We’d be happy to have you over whenever you want. Dinner, sleepovers, whatever. Mom says our friends are always welcome, as long as they don’t expect anything fancy.”

  “Thanks,” Victoria said. “You’re a good friend, Cassidy.”

  When I’m not accusing you of lying, I thought guiltily. “So are you,” I told her. “My best friend.”

  Eighteen

  The next morning dawned clear and icy cold, with a hard pale sun and a cloudless blue sky. There were tons of kids already on the hill when we arrived. We all scrambled out of Mom’s station wagon with my wooden toboggan and Ben’s flying saucer, and a tiny blue-hatted girl came flying across the parking lot to meet us.

  “Sydney’s here?” I asked, stating the obvious.

  Ben grinned at me. “Sure. You didn’t think I was going to hang out with you, did you?”

  I laughed. “As a matter of fact…”

  And the two of them were gone, racing up the hill side by side.

  Felicia appeared to be frozen to the spot, staring after them. “It’s awfully steep,” she said.

  I squinted up at the hill. The glare of the snow was blinding. To the left of the run, a line of kids trudged up the slope, toboggans tucked under their arms or being tugged along behind them. They looked like ants, steadily working their way up, up, up, single file. I shook my head and started walking. “This is the best hill,” I told her, leading the way. “We call it the Demolition Demon, because it’s so fast.”

  She didn’t move.

  “You’re not scared, are you?” I asked her. “Because it’s just a joke, the demolition thing. It’s not really that steep.”

  “I’ve never tobogganed before,” she admitted. “We didn’t get much snow where we used to live.”

  Victoria grinned and took her arm. “First time for everything.”

  From the top, I had to admit it looked awfully cliff-like.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked Felicia. “Because if you’re nervous…”

  Victoria laughed. “Don’t tell me the fearless Cassidy is scared.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

  They both giggled.

  “I am so not scared,” I told them firmly. I sat down on my old-fashioned wooden sled. “Coming with me? There’s lots of room.”

  Victoria sat down at the back and gestured to Felicia to sit in the middle. Felicia hesitated, her dark eyes wide and anxious; then she squeezed in, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist.

  “Ready?”

  “Ready!”

  And we were off, flying down the hill so fast the wind whipped my hair back, made my eyes water and blew the tears off my face. The wind stole the breath right out of my lungs.

  “That was awesome,” Victoria gasped when we finally slid to a stop. “Let’s do it again.”

  I twisted around. “Felicia? All right?”

  “Fabulous.” She laughed. “Incredible.”

  We scrambled to our feet and, dragging the toboggan behind us, started back up the hill.

  The runs got faster as the morning went on. The weight of hundreds of kids careening down had packed the snow and made it smooth and icy.

  “One more time,” Felicia panted as we trudged up the hill, pulling the toboggan behind us. “Then I need a break. This is worse than going to the gym.”

  I laughed. “But you’re doing it with us instead of your mom. Doesn’t that count for something?”

  “My turn to go in front,” Victoria announced, plunking herself down. Felicia and I sat down behind her and we were off, laughing. Next thing I knew the sled was twisting sideways and I was flying through the air. Oof. I hit the ground, rolled a few times and landed face down at the bottom of the hill. A second later, Victoria landed on top of me. I spluttered, my mouth full of snow.

  Victoria rolled off and lay beside me. Felicia had landed a few feet away and she came crawling over to join us.

  “Tobogganing,” she muttered. “And here I thought you guys liked me.”

  I couldn’t stop laughing. I rolled onto one elbow to watch my friends. Felicia’s hat had flown off and her dark hair was tangled and full of ice. Victoria’s face was lit up, long curving dimples framing her mouth, those pink gums and white teeth showing in a grin so wide it looked totally goofy. I didn’t care if she was really telekinetic or not, I decided. I didn’t always understand her, but she was my friend and that was all there was to it.

  “Cassidy! Come quick!” Sydney appeared beside us, breathing hard, like she had been running.

  I scrambled to my feet. “What is it? Is Ben okay?”

  Sydney sh
ook her head and swallowed a sob. “Tyler… he’s here with his friends. And they’ve got Ben.”

  I jumped to my feet, abandoning the toboggan, and followed Sydney, tearing along the foot of the hill. I could hear Victoria and Felicia running behind me, their boots crunching in the packed snow.

  Sydney led us past the tobogganing area and over to the half-frozen creek that ran along the base of the hill. My heart was beating hard. A kid had drowned here a few years ago. The story was that he had fallen through the ice and been swept under by the current. I didn’t know if it was true or not, but no one was allowed to toboggan on this part of the hill anymore. We ran along the side of the creek, past the parking lot, until the creek turned and disappeared into the woods.

  “They were right here a minute ago.” Sydney twisted her hands together anxiously. “Where would they have gone?”

  It was surprisingly quiet down by the stream. The screams and laughter of the kids on the hill sounded muffled and distant. I could hear the gurgling of icy water flowing fast under a thin crust of ice. I stood silent for a moment, listening. A startled bird flew out of the trees.

  “Did you hear anything?” I asked.

  Sydney shook her head, but Felicia was pointing into the woods. “Maybe?”

  I started running again, into the trees, in the direction the bird had come from. In a couple of minutes I saw Ben, perched precariously on a rock, leaning over the icy stream, reaching as far as he could with a long stick held in his hand.

  I ran toward him. “Careful!” I grabbed the back of his jacket tightly. My heart was banging like crazy. “What are you doing?”

  “My hat!” Ben pointed.

  I followed his gaze. His red wool hat was in the water, caught on some branches and just out of reach.

  “I’ll get it. My arms are longer.” I took the stick from him and helped him off the rock to more secure footing. For a kid who was supposed to be a genius, he sure could be dumb sometimes. He didn’t seem to have a clue how dangerous the half-frozen stream was.

  Ben tucked his bare hands under his arms. “Thanks.” He started crying, and Sydney put her arms around him.

  I managed to hook the hat with the stick and, with some difficulty, pulled it free of the branches it was snagged on. I dropped the sodden mass on the snow beside me and looked ruefully at Ben. “It won’t do you much good like that.”

  Ben made a funny choking sound, like he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “No,” he said.

  “Where are your mittens?” asked Sydney. She tugged his hands out from his armpits and looked at them. They were red and raw-looking. “You’re gonna get frostbite.”

  “Tyler threw them in the stream.”

  I stared at the cold water rushing by. Ben’s mittens were probably miles downstream by now.

  “Everyone knows how dangerous this stream is. If you had fallen in…” I shook my head slowly. “What is Tyler’s problem?”

  Ben shrugged. “He says I talk like a freak.”

  “Just because you use words of more than one syllable,” said Sydney indignantly. “Tyler is an imbecile. He doesn’t know what Ben means half the time, and it makes him mad.”

  I looked at Victoria and Felicia. “What should we do? Mom’s not picking us up for another hour.”

  Victoria didn’t answer. She met my eyes, frowning; then she quickly looked away.

  I caught my breath. “Can you guys excuse us a moment?” I grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. “So?”

  She shook her head and spoke in an urgent whisper. “No, I know what you’re going to say and the answer’s no. I want to, I really do, but I can’t. I—”

  “Promised your mom,” I finished. “I know, but Victoria, this is really serious. I mean, a kid drowned in that creek a few years ago. We can’t let Tyler get away with this.”

  “I’m not saying we should let him get away with it.”

  “What then?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  I stared at the ground. I didn’t want to fight with her again, but I couldn’t help being angry. What was the use of having this incredible power if she wouldn’t use it? “What if Ben had fallen in?” I asked. “Would you have used your power to get him out or would you just let him drown?”

  My words came out sounding harsher than I meant them to. Victoria’s cheeks flushed as pink as if I’d slapped her. She was quiet for a moment. “I’d have jumped in myself if I had to,” she said. Her voice was so sad I could hardly stand it.

  It didn’t make any sense, but I could have sworn she looked ashamed. “Victoria…”

  “If it wasn’t for me, Rick wouldn’t have gone to jail and my parents wouldn’t always be fighting.” Her voice broke. “You think it’s so great being telekinetic? You don’t understand anything.”

  Nineteen

  Sydney was watching us impatiently. “Look, I’m sorry to interrupt but…”

  I turned back to her. “We’re trying to figure out what to do, okay? If Victoria would help…”

  “She can’t,” Sydney said flatly.

  “What do you mean, she can’t?”

  Sydney gave me an exasperated look. “I mean, if you guys just fix things for Ben today, it won’t change anything. It’ll just be the same tomorrow, and you can’t always be there.”

  I folded my arms across my chest. “So, what are you suggesting, Sydney? We all give up and go home?”

  “Maybe we should,” Ben said. He sounded defeated. “Maybe we should find someone who has a cell phone and call Mom.”

  Sydney stamped her foot. “Ben, don’t be a wimp.”

  I scowled at her. “I thought you were his friend.”

  “I am,” she said. “And if you really want to help him, you have to help him figure out how to do this on his own.”

  For a skinny little kid, she sure had a lot of opinions. There was a long silence. Felicia and Victoria both stared at Sydney; then slowly they both turned and looked at me.

  Finally Felicia spoke. “It’s not like we don’t have some experience with bullies,” she pointed out. “Um, Ben? I don’t know if you already know this, but I’ve been picked on a fair bit by Tyler’s sister, Amber.”

  “We all have,” I said. “We all know what it’s like.”

  “She doesn’t threaten to beat you up,” Ben pointed out.

  I nodded. “True. But you know what? You have to make Tyler think he doesn’t scare you.”

  “But he does scare me,” Ben said. “I’d be an idiot not to be scared of him. He’s twice my size, and he likes to hit people.”

  “Ben’s got a point,” Victoria admitted.

  “I didn’t say he shouldn’t be scared. I said that he had to pretend he wasn’t scared.” I thought about Amber. “It’s different.”

  “I’m not such a good actor,” Ben said.

  I glared at him. “Well, you’re about to get better, okay?”

  He nodded, wide-eyed, and I suddenly remembered what Mom had said about him looking up to me. “Listen, Ben.” I hesitated; then I plunged on. “I’ve been scared of Amber. I mean, I know she hasn’t threatened to beat me up, but I’ve been scared, okay? So I do understand.”

  “Okay,” he whispered.

  “And you know what? It’s so not okay, what Tyler’s doing to you.”

  “That’s right,” Sydney said, nodding. “That’s what I keep telling him.”

  “So let’s go have a word with him.” I nodded in the direction of the hill. “Come on.”

  Ben’s shoulders slumped. “Cassie, I think I want to go home.”

  I didn’t know how hard to push him. “It’s up to you,” I said finally. “But if you just give up, this stuff is going to keep happening.”

  Felicia looked at him, her face serious. “It’s not just you, you know. Tyler bullies other kids too. If you let him go on doing this, nothing’s going to change.”

  “Other kids?” Ben looked startled. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “Ab
solutely.”

  There was a long silence. Ben shrugged helplessly. “I guess it can’t make things much worse.” He rubbed his eyes, brushing away tears. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I’ll start,” I said. “Just act like you’re not scared, okay? And when it’s your turn, stand up for yourself.”

  We all trooped back up to the top of the toboggan run and waited for Tyler. Finally we saw him. He was flanked by two other boys and they were hauling a huge black inner tube behind them.

  Victoria reached out and grasped Ben’s shoulder. “Ready?”

  Ben shook his head. “No, I don’t know. I don’t think I can do this.” His chin was trembling.

  “It’ll be okay,” I said softly, hoping I was right. “We won’t let them hurt you.”

  “Cassie, please.” Ben’s shoulders hunched up. “I can’t do this.”

  I wanted to hug him but not with Tyler watching. I let my arms fall back to my sides, and I looked Ben straight in the eyes.

  “Ben, don’t let being scared stop you.”

  Ben nodded mutely.

  “You know what?” I said. “I was going to call Tyler over for a word, but it’d be even better if you did it.”

  I didn’t really think he would do it, but he stood up and took a shaky step toward the older boys. He looked terrified. I could hardly stand it.

  “Hey, Tyler!” Ben called out. His voice shook a little. Tyler spun around. “Well, if it isn’t the little freak. Too bad. I was hoping you’d fall in the crick and drown.”

  I couldn’t believe this fourth grader had the nerve to say that in front of the five of us. I wanted to pick him up and shake him until what little brain matter he had was completely scrambled.

  Tyler laughed. “Hiding behind a bunch of girls, nerd-boy?”

  I squeezed Ben’s shoulder, and he stepped forward. “I’m not hiding behind anyone,” he said. “And I’m not scared of you. You’re just a bully. And you know what?” His voice got stronger. “Most bullies have low self-esteem.”

  I didn’t know quite what I’d expected him to say but that wasn’t it. I wondered where he was going with it.